Sunday, September 1, 2013

A Labor (Day) of Love

Today is Labor Day in the U.S., the
last day that most swimming pools are open until next Memorial Day in
May. Naturally, we love the water and love summer, so it is with
much sadness that we have to say goodbye to pool season. But we may
as well go out with a bang, right?? So let's take a look at some
male celebrities who are workin' a swimsuit. As usual, there will be
a whole gamut of types, so hopefully you'll find a favorite or two!
(And thanks also to our cover boy today, Mr. Burt Reynolds.)

Recognize this man? This was my
generation and the one before it's answer to Michael Phelps, the
handsome and athletic Olympian Mark Spitz.

Truly one of the most beautiful men
ever created, and one who was frequently displayed in next to nothing
on, is all-natural bodybuilder and sword 'n sandal actor Steve Reeves, seen here
sunning his flawless physique.

Here, we see Mr. Reeves in the company
of a slew of fellow bodybuilders during the production of Athena
(1954) – He's the one being pinned back.

Costar Debbie Reynolds steps in to
compare biceps with the guys. Is this an embarrassment of riches or
WHAT?

While we're in the past, let's take a
peek at some other old time stars in their swimwear... Here we see
wonderful movie villain (and occasional good guy) Warren William in a
snappy belted suit. He was so often covered up in his movies, it's
rare to see him out of a suit (and in decent shape, too!)

Randolph Scott and his roommate Cary
Grant pose on the diving board for a photo spread on their everyday
life together. Grant has the peculiar distinction of having socks
on, but the bigger question is: if the socks are on his feet, then
what does he have in the front of that swimsuit?!?

Crooner and actor (such as in 1945's
State Fair) Dick Haymes frolics in the back yard with his cute
children (two of the six kids he had amongst his many wives.)

A very focused and determined James
Cagney prepares to do a back-flip.

Alan Ladd (during the filming of The
Great Gatsby, 1949) is shown talking to Macdonald Carey during a
poolside scene.

Steve Cochran (star of the recently
profiled movie The Beat Generation, 1959) is shown with some clinging
seaweed, clinging Lita Milan and a clinging swimsuit in I, Mobster
(1958), which has suddenly become a must-see movie for me!

We can't see too much of Cochran's
Generation costar Ray Danton here, but what we can make out looks
rather inviting...

Contrary film actor Edmund Purdom is shown sharing a hammock with wife of one year Linda Christian.

Tab Hunter takes part in some poolside
tomfoolery with a couple of friends. Shame about those socks.

Here we see Sal Mineo (in the company
of Terry Moore) taking a stroll on the beach.

Former Disney star Tommy Kirk is shown
cavorting with a bevy of bikini-clad gals in one of his beach-set
movies (though in real life, his tastes ran the same way mine do!)

Another teen sensation, Frankie Avalon,
is seen here on the deck of a boat in I'll Take Sweden (1965.)

I wanted to include that color shot
above, but he makes a somewhat better impression standing up, as
shown here!

One of my faithful readers sent in this
shot of French star Alain Delon about to dive into The Swimming Pool
(1969.)

Next, we take a dip into the Charlton
Heston wing of this swimwear exhibit. Mr H., a one-time artists
model, often swam and took in the sun wearing abbreviated trunks.

The star of many historical epics was
contemporary when it came to swimsuits.

This dotted one seems to have been a
favorite of his.

When you spend a fair amount of time in
loincloths and rags, you have to keep that tan going!

Another actor who wore a loincloth in
at least one movie (Zardoz, 1974) is Sean Connery, seen here with
then-wife Diane Cilento in some snugly-fitting swimtrunks.

His immediate successor as James Bond
(in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 1969) was male
model-turned-actor George Lazenby, sporting a Speedo at the beach.

The villain in Secret Service was Telly
Savalas, enjoying a swim in a Speedo of his own. See how I made that
segue? ;-)

Speedos for breakfast?? It looks that
way for actor Tony Franciosa in this cereal commercial.

Of course I cackle at the box of Grape
Nuts being in such close proximity as Mr. F.'s own...

In The Producers (1967), when auditions
were in full swing for the lead in the movie's deliberately awful
musical “Springtime for Hitler,” one of the actors slithered down
to these briefs. (Maybe not a swimsuit, but when have I ever been
picky?!)

In The Gay Deceivers (1969) Laurence
Casey plays gay to avoid the draft, but takes a stroll and a swim
with his girlfriend.

Miles O'Keefe got a short-lived burst
of major publicity when he played the title character in 1981's
Tarzan, the Ape Man opposite Bo Derek. His loincloth was probably
the most abbreviated to that time except perhaps for the one Johnny
Weissmuller wore in the very first pre-Code film.

Another scantily-clad movie actor was
Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon (1980), who even went naked a
time or two.

Not to be outdone (though when it came
to the movie's lasting fame, he was) was Eight is Enough's Willie
Ames in Paradise (1982), a Lagoon ripoff, in which he put forth a
nude swimming scene.

The Speedo was still going strong on
actor Paul Land in 1983's Spring Break (and be sure not to miss the
extra to the left of him's revealing shorts!)

Mr. Land did commit one cardinal sin of the Speedo, however, which was to have a thatch of body hair on his inner thighs along the leg holes. Ya gotta prune a little bit!

Let's turn the dial now to some TV
actors. We'll call this first part the Robert Culp Wing. Culp was
the star (along with Bill Cosby) of I Spy (1965 – 1968) and
sometimes had occasion on the globe-trotting show to show off some
very fun and tiny swim trunks.

Just look at the series of shots
depicted here (again, brought to my attention by a faithful
Underworld reader!)

In this montage, we almost get a bit of
butt crack from him as he emerges from the water. (And note the dark
brown jock strap they had Mr. Cosby in!)

This suit screams the 1960s (and I wish
I could have been there to experience them firsthand.)

This next trio of shots are of a
Speedo-clad Mr. Culp working on a dolly shot in which the camera will
be pulled backwards away from him along the platform he's walking on.

So much goes on out of frame in TV or
movies that we rarely, if ever, take time to think about when
watching.

Here's a more close-up view. Culp, by
the way. went “full monty” in a 1973 film called A Name for Evil
if you ever come across it.

Actor John Saxon appeared in the 1973
TV-movie Linda with Stella Stevens and showed off his humpy physique.
This entire movie is on youtube.com if you ever want to see it.
(Which reminds me, it may soon be time to hop into the vintage TVMovie Time Tunnel again!)

If you are of a certain age, you are
doubtlessly aware of the extraordinary beauty and hunkitude of this
next guy, Voyagers' Jon-Erik Hexum, seen in a swimsuit photo payout with The
Fall Guy's Heather Thomas.

I loved both of these people when I was
a kid, though my mother saw Thomas as a car show that was in town and
thought she seemed “hard.” LOL Maybe so... (Incidentally,
Thomas has just stepped before the cameras again after a fifteen-year
hiatus, in a warm, fuzzy, family-oriented opus called Girltrash: All
Night Long!)

When Hexum died in 1984, his
replacement on the series he was then starring on (Cover Up) was Antony
Hamilton, shown here in a Speedo.

Hamilton's life ended far too early as
well when AIDS claimed him in 1995 at only age forty-two.

Soap opera fans might feel themselves
getting into a lather over these next two men. Doug Sheehan worked
on General Hospital from 1978 to 1982 before moving to primetime on
Knots Landing from 1983 to 1987.

Peter Reckell caused a sensation on
Days of Our Lives from 1983 to 1987 before leaving and coming back
from 1990 to 1992.

he came back a third time, ironically
his longest stay, from 1995 to 2012.

Do those pictures remind you of
anything? They ought to put you in the mind of Battle of the Network
Stars if you're old enough to recall that series of specials which
pitted actors and actresses from NBC, CBS and ABC against each other
in various sporting events. (Thankfully, two or three of the events
meant that the men were shoehorned into Speedo bathing suits!)

Since this was my FAVORITE PROGRAM EVER
as a kid and I happen to have collected a fair amount of pictures
from it, we'll end this post with them. What a shame we couldn't get
a better look at Gary Sandy (of WKRP in Cincinnati, 1978-1982), an actor famous for his tight pants, rowing a kayak in the
lower right corner of this montage.

This shot is likely from another
occasion (you can usually spot Battle pics from the distinctively
colorful, solid-design swimsuits), but I'm tossing it on the pile
anyway. Lorenzo Lamas of Falcon Crest (1981-1990.) Lamas appeared
in every one of Crest's 227 episodes.

Preparing for a swimming relay is B.J.
And the Bear's Greg Evigan. He starred in that show from 1978 to
1981.

Here's another shot of Evigan (and,
again, I'm thinking this is from another occasion, due to the style -
and size! - of suit.)

Frequent team captain Robert Conrad (of
Baa Baa Black Sheep, 1976-1978) takes a breather with an
unfortunately-located can of Coke.

Tom Selleck of Magnum P.I. (1980-1988)
is wearing one of the ghastly rust-colored, velour warm-up jackets
over his Speedo.

This is Daniel J. Travanti, star of Hill St. Blues from 1981 to 1987.

Dynasty's John James towels off after a
swim. James was one of only two cast members to stay with the show
(departing only to spend two seasons on its spin-off The Colbys, 1985-1987)
through its entire run from 1981 to 1989.

Fans of Andrew Stevens are in for a
treat now. First we have this shot of him in his official ABC
warm-up jacket and swimsuit. He was costarring on Code Red
(1981-1982) at the time.

Now we get a glimpse of him after a
moist ride in the kayak relay race.

About to dive into the water for the
swimming relay, his li'l trunks are becoming quite the eye (and
mouth?) openers. Ha!

I always try to save the best for last
and so here I give you young Andrew Stevens alongside the incredibly
gorgeous Sam J. Jones, his Code Red costar. And these two together
ought to get anyone's alarms blaring! I hope you had a wonderful
weekend and enjoyed this Labor Day special.

6 comments:

Warren William, who knew! I've seen several of his movies, he was a decent actor but he's usually such a lech with that overly slick look I never thought much about what was under that business suit he wore. He's not an Adonis but certainly in good shape particularly for a period where that wasn't a focus.

So many treasures to scan too! Any new pics of John Saxon partially unclothed are always welcome.

Greg Evigan was always the cutest truck driver imaginable even if his show was beyond stupid. That first picture of him makes his suit seem almost nonexistent, I know it's because its in B&W but still a nice effect. And the red suit ain't bad either.

The snap of Robert Conrad is something, golly but we loved orange in the 70's!, he always struck me as such a vain jerk, albeit with a great body, that he would have said the can was too small to be a realistic comparison.

Lon Chaney, you are right!! The source of the photo had it listed as Bruce and it was smallish, not allowing me a really good look (nor did I take enough time to examine it), but it IS Gary Sandy! My apologies. The post is now updated.

Food From the Gods

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"Oh, and for those who are looking for fascinating, funny, often outré online reading about vintage, sometimes obscure, movies, TV shows and stars, try the blog, “Poseidon’s Underworld.” You’ll find everything from detailed and witty biographies to posts on how stars wore their clothes — or didn’t — as each show biz decade constricted or loosened up. Heavily illustrated and highly informative". - Liz Smith - Liz Smith - newyorksocialdiary.com

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